Union gears up for BT strike action this month

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By John Oates • Get more from this author

Posted in Telecoms, 15th May 2008 10:22 GMT

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BT is facing industrial action from union Connect, which has voted to reject the company's pay offer.

A spokesman for union Connect told The Register he hoped BT would return to talks. Connect is unhappy with the distribution of pay increases, not the overall pot on offer.

The spokesman said: "We have serious concerns about the distribution of pay. There are managers being paid less than the people they manage and we're not satisfied that the increase deals with the pay gap at BT between male and female staff. It is our strong preference that BT return to negotiations."

Connect has 14,000 members within BT. It will take action before 27 May. The union's first action is calling on members to work to rule, not to travel or be contactable outside their contracted hours.

The union ballot was carried out by post - 51 per cent of members took part and voted four to one in favour of action.

The vote for action emerged as BT unveiled its latest results, which showed profits standing still.

A BT spokesman said: "BT can confirm that Connect has served notice of their intention to take industrial action short of strike action but has asked to suspend the action to allow more talks. This is a disappointing and unhelpful development as BT has been working closely with Connect to resolve all remaining issues. BT will continue to seek solutions to the mutual satisfaction of all parties."®

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